The modern battlefield is likely to contain a broad spectrum of armored and unarmored vehicle targets. The penetration required to inflict lethal damage to the targets ranges from fractions of an inch for trucks to several inches for armored vehicles. Current munitions carry warheads that are specifically designed to either provide deep penetration of heavy armor or multiple fragments for wide area coverage.
Some armored vehicles such as tanks and the like carry sufficient armor so that the required penetration of several inches of armor is only achieved by relatively long, monolithic rods. However, rocket launchers, trucks, and lighter armored gun carrying vehicles may be defeated by penetration of only a fraction of an inch. Since there is only so much material in a warhead, it is not practical to attempt to defeat light armor and no armor vehicles with warheads that produce heavy armor piercing fragments, and, clearly, the multiple fragment warheads aren't any danger to heavy armored tanks and the like.
Presently available are warheads with single explosively formed penetrator forming liners. Also, warheads have been designed with multiple explosively formed penetrator forming liners. However, there has been no effort to provide a combination liner that would produce both at one time.
It would be of great advantage if a family of warhead concepts could be developed which combine both features, of deep penetration by larger fragments along with multiple fragments for wider coverage, in one single warhead.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a multiple size fragmenting warhead for use with a wide range of targets.
Another object of this invention is to provide a warhead capable of defeating a wide spectrum of targets.
A specific object of this invention is to provide a warhead that produces both a long rod explosively formed penetrator and multiple explosively formed penetrators in once device.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.